Polycarbonate is naturally transparent, with the ability to transmit light nearly that of glass. It has high strength, toughness, heat resistance, and excellent dimensional and color stability. Flame retardants can be added to polycarbonate without significant loss of properties.
 

The general properties can be summarized as follows:



• excellent physical properties
• excellent toughness
• very good heat resistance
• fair chemical resistance
• transparent
• moderate to high price
• fair processing

How do these properties compare to other materials?
One of the biggest advantages of polycarbonate is its impact strength. Polycarbonate does have its disadvantages. It has only fair chemical resistance and is attacked by many organic solvents. It is also fairly expensive compared to other plastics. It has been as much as double the price of ABS. In applications where lower heat and impact are needed, ABS can be quite a bargain compared to polycarbonate.



 

What is a glass fiber reinforced grade of polycarbonate?
The addition of glass fibers to polycarbonate significantly increases the tensile strength, flexural strength, flexural modulus, and heat deflection temperature of the polycarbonate while causing a decrease in the impact strength and tensile elongation. The greater the amount of glass fiber added to the polycarbonate, the greater the effect on each property will be.

How is polycarbonate used?
It can be injection molded, blow molded, and extruded and is an ideal engineering plastic with good electrical insulating properties, finding applications in electric meter housings and covers, casket hardware, portable tool housings, safety helmets, computer parts, and vandal-proof windows and light globes. The price of polycarbonate restricts its use to mainly engineering applications.

Other engineering applications include the following:



• equipment housings
• exterior automotive components
• outdoor lighting fixtures
• nameplates and bezels
• non automotive vehicle windows
• brackets and structural parts
• medical supply components
• plastic lenses for eyeglasses

How is polycarbonate sold?
In general, the primary distinguishing characteristic of a grade of polycarbonate is its melt flow. The only exceptions are glass fiber reinforced grades, which are sold based on the percentage of glass fiber used in the production of the plastic. Other properties (such as UV stabilization, mold release, impact modification, and flame retardancy) typically differentiate grades of the same melt flow or percentage of glass fiber. Changes in melt flow have an effect on other physical properties.

When specifying a grade of polycarbonate, it is necessary to know the conditions under which it will be used. 

Lastly, there are two major types of polycarbonate sold. Virgin polycarbonate is polycarbonate which has not been altered from the time of original manufacturing to the purchase of the product. Polycarbonate regrind comes from polycarbonate that is taken from an end-user and ground into pellets. These new pellets can be compounded again with other material (both virgin and other regrind pellets) to produce a new product. The nature of polycarbonate is such that its properties do not deteriorate significantly after being reground if dried properly prior to processing.

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What is UV stabilization?
UV stabilizers are added to polycarbonate to help protect the material from the effects of exposure to the Sun. Radiation from the Sun, especially in the UV portion of the spectrum, degrades the properties of polycarbonate. The addition of UV stabilizers allows the material to sustain exposure to the sun for a longer period of time.

What is mold release?
Adding a mold release agent to polycarbonate makes processing easier. It acts in a way similar to a lubricant in the injection molding process.